Officials are probing how a 51-year-old highway bridge came to collapse in the Italian port city of Genoa yesterday, killing at least 26 people and injuring 16 others as it sent dozens of vehicles tumbling into a heap of concrete and twisted steel.

Surgery nears for man with oversized scrotum

A Queensland man whose scrotum has grown to the size of a watermelon may soon have the disease treated after a Melbourne plastic surgeon offered to perform a life-saving operation.

Ipswich 24-year-old Tyrone Bowd had faced having to raise $100,000 to fly to the US for the surgery to treat his scrotal lymphedema.

In one week he had raised more than $10,000 as a result of public donations - but now Melbourne surgeon Dr Ramin Shayan has come to his rescue with an offer that may see his life improved sooner than he expected.

The Melbourne reconstructive plastic surgeon, who has a PhD in lymphedema, has reached out to Mr Bowd saying he would be able to complete the surgery in a public hospital at no cost, pending a review of his medical records, South-West News reports.

"The support has been wonderful and really overwhelming," Mr Bowd's mother and full-time carer Tanya told the newspaper.

"We were told no one in Australia could help us, so to find out there’s help is great."

The surgery is expected to be done through St Vincent's and the O'Brien Institute in Melbourne.